In what was essentially a must-win game for the Indianapolis Colts this week, they were able to gut out a 21-16 victory at home over the Chicago Bears to improve to 1-2 on the season.
As is often the case in the NFL, the outcome of this game was determined at the line of scrimmage. The Colts’ run defense was able to stifle the Bears run game, while on the flip side, the Colts offense was able to lean heavily on Jonathan Taylor.
Helping the Colts secure this win were several standout performances. So let’s hand out some game balls.
Jaylon Jones
If you get two interceptions, you certainly get a game ball. Coming into the season, the Colts were banking heavily on Jones to take a big step forward in his second season to help elevate the play of the cornerback position. In Sunday’s game, Jones allowed four completions on seven targets for just 36 yards. He also had the two interceptions–one of which took points off the board for the Bears, who were in field goal range.
Laiatu Latu
Latu’s strip-sack came at a huge moment in the game. The Bears had scored a touchdown to make it a one possession game, and then got the ball back quickly after forcing the Colts’ offense to punt. Momentum had certainly shifted in the Bears direction, until Latu’s strip sack gave the ball back to the offense, who scored a touchdown. In addition to that, Latu also led the Colts in pressures with five, per PFF.
Jonathan Taylor
There was a clear emphasis to get Taylor more involved this week. After totaling 28 carries in the first two games, Taylor had 23 against the Bears. As he does, Taylor made the most of his opportunities, rushing for 110 yards at 4.8 yards per rush with two touchdowns. It was Taylor who gave the offense some sort of stable presence to lean on in this game.
Defensive front
We’ll hand out several game balls here. After being demolished by the Texans and Packers in the run game, the Colts defensive front was able to control the line of scrimmage in this matchup. Chicago finished the game totaling just 63 rushing yards on 28 carries. This then put Caleb Williams and the passing game in disadvantageous long down-and-distance situations. As the numbers show, this was an all-around much more fundamentally sound performance by the front seven.
Rigoberto Sanchez
In a game where neither the Bears offense nor the Colts offense could find much success, the field position battle became all that more important. Helping the Colts maintain an edge in that regard was Sanchez, who averaged 49.0 yards per punt and on all five of his attempts he pinned the Bears inside their own 20-yard line.
